City mops up Incepta cash call

CITY institutions have stepped in to help loss-making marketing and PR group Incepta complete its £17.6m rights issue after a 63% take-up from existing shareholders.

Incepta, best-known in the Square Mile for its Citigate Dewe Rogerson communications arm, said blue-chip investors had taken up 50.6m of the near-136m shares put up for sale under the one-for-five cash call at 13p. The shares currently trade at 19 1/4p.

These are thought to include Legal & General, one of four institutions that took part in a £10m share placing when the terms of the issue were announced last month.

Chief executive Richard Nichols, who with chairman David Wright and executive director Anthony Carlisle did not take up his full entitlement of shares, said the cashraising exercise had been 'a huge success' .

He said the low take-up was expected, given the large number of overseas staff holding shares in the business. Collins Stewart had fully underwritten the issue. 'If there had been a lack of demand, we would have gone back to the underwriters and we have not had to go back to them,' he said.

Incepta is battling debts of £90m after being hit by the global slowdown and the cost of incentives paid to PR officers.